Chapter 473: Scared Stiff (7/10, Autumn Subscription)

In that instant, Jing Yan didn't know what he was thinking — or maybe he wasn't thinking at all — he was simply scared stiff.

And before he could react…

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Over a dozen wire-like filaments, dynamic yet as tough and sharp as metal, dropped nimbly from above, piercing straight through the humanoid-bat Possession like a kebab skewer, running it clean through.

Fresh blood splashed across Jing Yan's face, leaving him dazed for a good while before he came back to his senses.

"You're looking for me?"

The first thing he heard upon coming back to himself was You Sisi — You Qingyi's voice!

"Y-You, You Daren?"

Jing Yan turned his head to look and saw that the blue robe on You Sisi was almost dyed black by the dark blood.

And her expression was colder, more icy than usual, as if she were forcibly suppressing the fury in her heart.

"Whatever it is, speak quickly! Every second I stay here means more people will die!"

You Sisi said coldly, the Thousand Silk Sword gripped tightly in her hand.

"I-I'm Jing Yan, it's about the night—"

"I know. Get to the point! One more word of nonsense and I'm leaving!"

You Sisi's tone suddenly sharpened considerably. If she hadn't heard many Green Guards say Jing Yan had intelligence crucial to the Green Division's survival to give her, she never would have stopped here to waste time.

Choked by You Sisi, Jing Yan didn't get annoyed — instead, he calmed down.

He began compressing his discoveries, the direction of the Possession's movement, and the drawbacks caused by the battlefield's tug-of-war into one or two concise sentences to tell You Sisi.

But in reality, the moment he mentioned the Possession moving eastward in large numbers, You Sisi cut him off directly.

"I know."

"Wha—"

"What you're saying — the Possession's movement direction, the battlefield tug-of-war, all of it — Tian Erjun and I discovered it long ago."

Hearing You Sisi's words, Jing Yan was first stunned, then relieved.

Right. I overestimated myself.

A Qingyi, chosen as the master of a county — one in ten thousand, even one in a hundred million — how could such a powerhouse possibly fail to see through something like this?

"Then why—"

"Because it can't be stopped. The Possession are moving eastward at any cost, as if something is drawing them. Like a cat seeing a mouse, a dog seeing dung — they charge madly, completely uncontrollably. So after a brief discussion with Tian Erjun, we took positions on the two flanks respectively, to prevent the resurgent Possession from affecting the larger residential areas."

From Jing Yan's position on this main road, the full picture wasn't visible.

If one looked down from a bird's-eye view, it was clear that both You Sisi and Tian Erjun had perfectly managed to compress the rapidly moving Possession swarm's range of activity to Dongjie main road and the surrounding two flanks, preventing it from spreading further outward.

"Th-then You Daren should hurry back and compress the Possession swarm again!"

Jing Yan grew a little panicked. He knew he might have done something unnecessary — something wrong.

Every second You Sisi was delayed could cause the Possession swarm's spread on one side to expand drastically.

But You Sisi merely shook her head slightly: "There's no need anymore. All we have to do now is save more people."

"Huh? Why? Is it because… Captain Wu took your place and compressed the spread?"

"No…"

At the mention of Captain Wu, a strange look came over You Sisi's face.

"The reason we don't need to do that anymore is… the vanguard of the Possession swarm has already broken out past the county walls, heading straight east toward the wilderness.

And every single Possession is doing this — as if answering some summons, desperate to break free from our battle.

That's why the Possession swarm's attacks suddenly became fiercer and more dangerous, causing the casualty rate to spike."

After a pause, You Sisi said with some complexity: "As for Captain Wu… that madman — he's been chasing the Possession swarm from Qingsi County all the way into the wilderness, with no intention of turning back at all. No matter how we called out to him, it was useless… I want to ask, is everyone who comes out of your little village a few cards short of a full deck?"

First there was Xiao Xuedou, who wouldn't kill Possession-corrupted people; then there was Captain Wu, who charged out past the city walls, into the wilderness, still hell-bent on killing them to the death.

This freaking went from one extreme to the other.

You Sisi was genuinely in awe of these freaks who came out of the little villages.

But what depressed her most was… she discovered that that madman Wu was explosively strong!

That's right! In just two or three days, yet another man she couldn't surpass for the moment had appeared!

Two freaks appearing in a row — that was a heavy blow. You Sisi said she needed a moment, to enter closed-door cultivation and make a push for the Xiantian Realm to steady her Dao heart.

"Enough, there's nothing for you here. Fall back to the Green Division for shelter."

If Jing Yan had even a shred of strength or usefulness, You Sisi would never have told him to take shelter in a crisis where every single person was in danger — she would have pressed him into service to help.

Jing Yan seemed to know this too. A little dejected, he acknowledged her order and, without being a drag, retreated toward the Green Division behind them.

The ensuing battle was indeed, just as You Sisi had said, fierce — but already the final尾声.

You Sisi even began ordering the trembling Green Guards to give up attacking, retreat, and avoid combat, letting the Possession swarm withdraw.

Before long, the Possession swarm poured out of the city like a tide, heading for the wilderness.

This puzzled You Sisi greatly.

Because when they had entered the city, these Possession had gone to great lengths, using the Fire Pattern Token as a medium to produce large-scale Possession.

Yet now they withdrew so easily…

What on earth was going on?

Moreover… the Possession's movements were all like they were being forcibly drawn away by something — a phenomenon that was truly abnormal.

Let alone You Sisi — even Tian Erjun, after serving as Qingyi for so many years, had never seen the Possession exhibit such a strange, abnormal phenomenon.

The two discussed it for half a day and still couldn't figure it out.

Still, this batch of resurgent Possession leaving was actually good news for the Green Division.

At the very least, Qingsi County had returned to square one and become much safer.

"This whole matter is entirely my responsibility…"

Back at the Green Division, Tian Erjun summoned the white-clothed high-ranking officer who was still bandaged, and You Sisi in green, whose face hadn't even been washed and was streaked with black blood.

However, these were only the ones still alive.

Far more Green Guards had already died in that bizarre resurgence battle that had just erupted, and would never have the chance to stand here again.

"It's all my fault…"

Tian Erjun said once more, deeply pained.

His heart was filled with self-blame and unbearable anguish — but it was… self-inflicted!

"I told you long ago…" You Sisi wanted to throw out a few 'cold, cutting remarks,' but seeing Tian Erjun already reflecting this deeply, she felt she might be being a little cruel.

"No! Don't stop, curse me, curse me! Compared to those Green Guards who have already closed their eyes forever, what do these insults amount to!"

"Why did I have to stubbornly insist on my own way! If I had been more rational, more clear-headed back then, listened to your opinion, listened to You Qingyi's opinion, this tragedy would never have happened now! It wouldn't!!"

(End of chapter)